Years Past
by Abyss of Ends
Summary: After the defeat of Asura everyone moves on.  But the relative peace doesn't last for long.  While many are focused on the past, a new danger lies ahead in the future. *Takes place after the anime*  Be honest and tell me if I should quit or not.
1. Chapter 1

After the defeat of Asura, everyone goes back to their lives. But the relative peace doesn't last for long. While many are focused on the past, a new danger lies ahead in the future.

* * *

"A sound 'soul'

Dwells within a sound mind

And a sound body."

This is the motto of those sworn to protect all humans and the shinigami capitol these warriors reside in…

Ciudad de Muerto, Ville de la Mort, 死都市,

Death City.

* * *

It was another dark and calm night, illuminated only by the ghostly glow of the grinning moon. Unfortunately in Death City it doesn't stay quiet for long, for every night a battle of good and evil arises. Not far from this eerily peaceful scene, one of those battles ensues.

A young woman, possibly the age of 18, sprinted down a dark alley way, fleeing from an unknown follower. She ran as fast as her slender frame could take her. Long, dingy blond hair streamed behind her in low, loose pigtails. Her black tail coat was torn with the bottom button of four missing. The light yellow tank and tight plaid mini skirt she wore were untouched except for the cut along the side of the skirt that stopped just short of her underwear. Her gray stockings were ripped beyond repair and her knee high white boots with black buckles wrapped around were scuffed and dirtied as if she had fallen several times in her escape. Her pale green eyes scanned every window, every corner, every shadow, waiting for what her pursuer may have in store.

As this small, pathetic looking girl ran, the only thing that differentiated her from every horror movie victim on TV was the enormous scythe swaying in her grasp. The scythe had a menacing appearance to it, with an angry looking eye located at the joining of the blade and steel staff. Pitch black and blood red collided together across the blade like shark's teeth. Strangest of all was its uncanny ability to talk, and was in fact shouting at its wielder as she ran. Finally, to the scythe's insistence, the girl stopped and held up her weapon to look it in the eye.

"What is it Soul?" the girl asks, sounding exasperated with the weapon.

The scythe's glaring eye focused on its holder and spoke in an angered tone, "I was asking, Maka, if you had any sort of plan when you ran and jumped the kishen egg the moment it came into to sight."

Maka's brows furrowed as she tightened her grip on the scythe, imagining it was his neck she was strangling, "I didn't jump the kishen egg, it jumped me. You were too busy acting all 'cool' and 'aloof' to notice to battle had already begun!"

Soul scoffed, "I wasn't 'acting' cool. I am the epitome of cool. You would know yourself if you even tried being cool once in a while."

"I bet you can't even spell epitome…"

As the duo argued, a sinister presence approached. On a nearby roof stood the silhouette of what appeared to be a human, that is until the form contorted, bent backward (into the "bridge", as one might recall doing as a child) and scurried down the roof on all fours, interrupting the disputing pair.

Maka broke off her lecture on the importance of reading a good book once in a while to move into a defensive stance against the intruder, who's head was twisting around continuously in a dizzying manner. The creatures head suddenly stopped, opened its mouth and shot a rotting, grey tongue at the miester's head. Maka managed to block the putrid thing from hitting her face by parrying with the staff of the scythe. Unfortunately, she did not expect the creatures tongue to wrap around said scythe and yank it out of her grasp. The moment Maka realized she was weaponless, panic kicked in and she turned to make a mad dash to safety, but was slammed into the ally wall before she could take a single step. The creature now stood upright to trap Maka against the wall, mangled hands on either side of her, its head still and grinning maniacally at its prisoner.

"What are you going to do now, little girl? You have no weapon or courage left to face me. You don't stand a chance. Just give up calmly and I'll be sure to make this end quickly." The creature's grin widened, slicing around the back and stretching his head wide open, revealing a massive mouth lined with razor-sharp serrated teeth. As it drew nearer to engulf its captive, Maka began giggling.

The creature paused, closing its mouth to stare at the girl, "What's so funny, girl?"

Maka stopped her persistent giggling and looked up with a smile "If you think I'm helpless," She lost her grin and her face turned serious, "then you're dead wrong. Isn't that right Soul?" The creature turned around to face a white haired young man with a lazy look in his eyes and saliva dripping as he grinned. In the place of one of the boy's arms was a black and red scythe blade, just like the weapon earlier, extended and ready to swing at his opponent.

After the momentary shock, the creature snickered, "Think, boy, would you dare endanger you're partner? Once you swing that blade at me I'll just jump out of the way and let your precious technician take the blow. Now be a good little boy and wait right there. I devour you after I'm done with the girl."

Soul's grin grew, "You sure I'm the one you should be worrying about?"

Confused by the comment, the creature paused and stared at the albino boy, that is until it felt a searing pain at its side. It looked down to see a black scythe blade embedded in its ribcage. To the creatures surprise, blade protruded, not from the weapon but, from the technician.

"How can this be? How can the technician be a weapon…" the creature's screams faltered as it began coughing up blood. _Or is it that a weapon became a technician? But how…_

"Heh, Maka, isn't that what the Kishen god said when your blades appeared? And what happened after that? Oh, yeah, you killed him." Soul leapt at the retching creature and sunk his blade deep into its shoulder.

_How can this be…_ Both Soul and Maka simultaneously pulled back their blades, slicing the rest of the way through the creature …_They said it would be simple… _The body of the creature dissipated and all that was left was a glowing red orb.

"Hey, Maka… " Soul called as Maka grabbed the kishen egg and pocketed it.

"Yeah, Soul… " Maka replied and turned to face her partner.

Soul brought his hand to the back of his head and scratched. "Can we come up with a plan that isn't such a close call next time? I nearly lost my cool when that creep had you pinned against the wall."

Maka grinned, "Soul, there's no way you would lose your cool. You're the coolest guy I know."

* * *

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and please review. This is just the first chapter and whether or not I will submit another one will depend on reviews and whether I have time.


	2. Chapter 2

Well I already had the second chapter done anyway so I'm submitting it whether you like it or not.

* * *

The ride back to the apartment was silent, only the sound of the engine to break the calm night. Even after Soul turned off his engine and they walked up the long staircase to the apartment door, not a word was spoken. Maka fiddled with the keys until she found the one she was looking for, breaking the silence during her search.

"We did a good job tonight, Soul. Can't wait to get some shut eye, seeing as it's a school night. You'd think now that we're shingami and death scythe that we wouldn't have to go anymore, but some of those kids are clueless and the Academy (DWMA or Shibusen) needs all the help it can get…" Just as she began to turn the key, a hand protruding from a black leather sleeve slammed into the door just to the side of her head and a warm breath trickled down her neck. Maka stopped her senseless rambling and stared at the keys her hands. "Soul, I already told you-"

"That it's over, I've heard." Soul cut her off, placing his other hand on the door frame "I don't think you're being honest, to me or yourself."

"It wouldn't have worked out." Maka replied, still refusing to turn and face the man behind her.

"Just because it didn't work out between your parents-"

"This has nothing to do with them! Papa is a lying, dirty cheater and he drove Mama away, end of story!" Maka yelled at the ground, turning the key and opening the door "As for us, it's over. We shall be partners and friends, but nothing more." With that last statement, Maka slipped through the entrance and slammed the door in Soul's face.

Soul lingered by the door for a moment, and then turned to leave, but not before bringing his fist back and striking the door. Soul walked down a few doors and opened the door to the apartment that had been his for the last year. They needed room to breath after they broke up, but still be close enough that he was sure she was safe. Soul walked into the apartment that was twin to his old one.

"I've got so much air now I _can't_ breathe."

Soul flopped down on the only piece of furniture in the living room and closed his eyes. Maka let him have their old couch for his new apartment, saying she wanted something newer anyway. That was a lie, just like all the others, to distance them from each other. She wanted the couch, but it was too much of a reminder, and, therefore, needed to go. Soul was happy to have the couch… _But I want her…_

* * *

"Morning Ms. Albarn"

"Morning Toby, and remember, I told you to call me Maka." Maka lectured a young boy in front of her.

"Yes Ms. Al- I mean Maka!" the boy quickly corrected himself as Maka pulled out a menacing hardcover copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.

"Good, I'll see you in class Toby." As the boy ran off, a tall, curvy girl with long raven hair flowing down her back tentatively approached Maka. She wore a hooded short sleeve shirt with a star over her right breast and khaki shorts. A belt was wrapped several times around her lower torso with a weapons pouch connected to it at her hip.

"Maka, you really shouldn't scare the students"

"Well, thanks to Black*Star and his method of 'transcending god' you and him are both still students. And that's Ms. Albarn to you." Maka gave the towering girl a stern look, then grinned and gathered her into a hug. "It's been a while, Tsubaki." The other girl returned the hug, then let go so they could walk up the steps to the school.

"It's been what? Two, maybe three years since we last saw each other? It wasn't long after the defeat of the Kishen that we left" Tsubaki pondered to Maka until a loud, obnoxious voice broke her train of thought.

"YAAA HOOO! You're time of cowering in fear is over Death City, for I, the great Black*Star, have returned!" The booming voice came from a blue haired boy perched on one of the school's protruding stone spikes.

"Black*Star! Get down from there before I make you" Maka yelled, trying to calm herself down, the vein in her temple pulsing and ready to burst. With his speech over, the boy leapt from his perch, somersaulted through the air, then landed gracefully in front of the two ladies. When he stood up, Maka was shocked at how much he had grown in the past years.

No longer was Black*Star the small boy towered over by all of his peers. In front of Maka stood a grown man, now taller than his already lofty partner, Tsubaki. He was as muscular as ever, but as his body grew and stretched it had developed into more of a lean muscle. Black*Star's outfit had changed to a black sleeveless jacket left open to reveal a well defined 8-pack and white shorts with the length past his knees and belts around the hem. Although much had changed, his blue hair was still in those ridiculous spikes with that cocky grin plastered on his face.

"It would do you well not to destroy the school on your first day back. That would greatly upset the new headmaster." Maka warned Black*Star, though her warnings were futile.

"New headmaster you say? The place was put under new management, and I wasn't even told about it? How am I supposed to know if this guy is even worthy to be in my presence, let alone run DWMA?" Black*Star cracked his knuckles as his grin got wider, "Heh, who cares, I'll meet him for myself soon enough. Then I'll test him so I know for sure if he is."

"I'm pretty sure you already know him and I'd think you'd agree in saying that he deserves to run this school and the respect that goes with it," a cool, calm voice caused Black*Star to turn around and see a tall, thin man in a white suit. He had his black hair, pulled back into a ponytail, with three white lines wrapped horizontally around the left side of his head. His threatening golden-yellow eyes were like an owl staring at his prey. The two men held their gazes for what seemed like an eternity, but broke off after mere seconds when Black*Star captured the other man in a bear hug.

"It's good to see you, Kid!" Black*Star exclaimed as he suffocated the golden-eyed man.

"You too, Black*Star" Kid broke his calm and collected composure as he struggled to get out of his blue haired friend's grasp, but all the while smiling, "but only so long as you don't destroy my school."

Black*Star suddenly released Kid and looked at him with a slightly astonished expression. "What do you mean your school? Don't tell me you're-"

"Shinigami-sama and Headmaster of DWMA," Kid finished with a smirk. Black*Star's jaw dropped to the floor.

"But you're about the same age as us and younger than all the teachers, how did you end up as Head Hancho?" Black*Star questioned after he gathered his jaw back into place.

"Come I'll explain everything in my office," Kid gestured for them to fallow him into the school, "Oh, and by the way, I'm not younger than all the teacher's, because Maka works here and will in fact be your teacher." Black*Star's jaw once again hit the ground, but this time he needed Tsubaki's help to move along while Maka giggled behind them.

* * *

I realize that these are short chapters and I am sorry for that. I just can't seem to get past three pages in word. (it may have something to do with my extreme loathing of essay writing and the requirements for it, but who knows) Anyways, I working on the third chapter and realized how slowly the plot is moving, so you will be bored to death before anything interesting happens.


	3. Chapter 3

I am so incredibly, absolutely, greatly sorry for taking so long to update this. Last week I had test to study for and this week I spent working on this chapter. I still have yet to figure out how to introduce Chrona and what his/her appearance will be. That will be my mission for this week, oh, and also finishing/starting the fourth chapter. Again, I apologized for the delay and hope to have the next chapter up by next Friday if the test on Wednesday doesn't get in the way.

* * *

"I've taken the liberty of making a few adjustments to the space after the change in management." Kid explained as he opened the door to what had once been Shinigami-sama's office. "They were only a few minor things, but now it is nearly perfect-"

_CRASH_

Kid froze at the door, refusing to turn around and find the source of the offending racket.

_BAM_

Sweat began to form along his brow as his face went any unhealthy shade gray.

_CRASH_

Kid slowly turned his head to look into the office.

Through the door laid a large, perfectly cube shaped office with the walls and ceiling painted a dark gray. At the center of the room stood a monstrous, dark mahogany desk and a high backed, black leather chair behind it. Beyond the desk was a floor to ceiling window, probably two to three stories tall, that had once been framed by elegant black curtains but were now ripped and lying in pieces on the floor. Several book cases, in which its contents had been meticulously set, were knocked over, books and torn pages scattered on the floor. Tapestries were pulled off of the walls and pictures hung askew.

In the mess was a rosy cheeked woman in a white button-up shirt and a pinstriped vest and capris running around with a leopard print make-up box in hand. Close at her heels was an out of breath but also very angry looking woman, maybe a year or two older, dressed in similar clothing to her counterpart but with a pinstriped pencil skirt instead. Both of them ceased their rough housing when they realized that someone had just entered the room. The taller of the pair immediately paled while other started an infectious giggling, and her grin widened.

"Ok, Kid I know this looks bad, but we can fix it. Just take a deep breath, turn around, and Patty and I will clean this all up for you," The older one said as she tried to calm Kid down when she looked like she was going to faint herself.

Suddenly Kid stood up straight and composed himself, "Everything's fine, Liz, nothing to worry. What's a little mess?" He said as he took a step into the trashed room, but the moment his foot landed in the threshold Kid's brain imploded and he collapsed onto the floor.

As Liz and Patty, the latter giggling uncontrollably, rushed to Kids aid, Tsubaki and Black*Star followed Maka to the desk.

"We are all working on getting him over his OCD, and as you can see we are still making progress." Maka said as she searched through the desk drawers, "Although, he did do surprisingly well this time."

"So when did Kid take over for his old man? I thought he couldn't leave Death City because of something about his soul" Black*Star asked Maka, who had just found what she was looking for.

"After the defeat of the Kishen, Stein and all the Death Scythes worked together on finding a way to remove Shinigami-sama's soul from the city. With some additional assistance from Blair's and Chrona's knowledge on magic, we finally found the answer. Although little was revealed to the students, it was suspected that Free and Eruka were also involved and provided the necessary magic to extract Shinigami-sama's soul. Following the extraction, Shinigami-sama disappeared without a word. Many suspected foul play on the witches' part and others feared that something had gone wrong with the extraction method used. It wasn't until two weeks later, when we received this from Hollywood, California, that all suspicions were proven wrong." Maka handed a colorful postcard to Tsubaki and Black*Star.

The card read: _"Hiyo, everyone! Hope everything is going well in my absence. I apologize if I worried anyone by leaving without a word. Now that my soul is free, I wish to discover for myself what has changed in 800 years. I leave the school and my trust in Kid's very capable hands and wish you all a fun filled school year. _

_Yours truly,_

_Shinigami-sama"_

After rereading the card several times, Tsubaki slowly handed it back to Maka.

Black*Star stared incredulously at Tsubaki, "Hey, I was still reading-"

"When exactly did he leave?" Tsubaki questioned Maka, too shocked to notice Black*Star's protests.

"About a year and a half ago," Maka replied, taking the post card, placing it back in the desk, and pulling out stack of even more cards. Black*Star gave up on getting the card, deciding listening would be better than reading anyway. "We receive a new postcard every week or so from some new place Shinigami-sama has visited," Maka informed them as she laid the cards out on the desk.

The postcards had come from various places, starting the United States and Canada. Later, there were more from Central America (Mexico to Panama), Caribbean islands, and all of South America. The latest postcards were arriving from Europe, with the most recent one from Italy. On the back it said,

"_Rome is incredibly beautiful. Can't wait to try some of that gelato everyone talks about._

_Wish you were here,_

_Shinigami-sama_"

"I guess you can't really blame him. I mean, he was trapped in this city for 800 years," Tsubaki stated while still scanning the postcards littering the desk.

"True as that may be, his actions were incredibly selfish." Now recovered from his shock, Kid walked up to the desk, "Without taking even a moment to consider the consequences of his actions, he leaves all who care for his well-being in a state of panic."

"But now we can manage the school on our own. Unfortunately, we have yet to contact Shinigami-sama. Every time we receive a new post card we send search groups to that area, but when they reach the location he has already moved on." Maka gave a worried glance at Kid, but the look turned to confusion when her gaze fell on him. "Um, Kid, why do you have you eyes closed?"

Black*Star and Tsubaki, too, looked away from the postcards and up at Kid, who did in fact have his eyes closed.

"Liz said that if I don't see the room I won't have to notice how horribly asymmetrical it is right now," Kid said with a peaceful smile on his face, "and to also to only think about symmetrical things. Right now I am envisioning the number 8."

Maka blinked a couple of times before shaking her head and trying to go back to her train of thought, "Anyways, we have made some changes to the school and have a new variety of learning methods for the students. We will have you start school tomorrow, but today we can give you a tour and show you how the classes are done."

With that statement, Maka headed to the door with Tsubaki, Black*Star, Kid, Liz and Patti following shortly after.

A thought came to Maka as she walked into the hallway. "Liz? Patti? Make sure you hold onto Kid so that he doesn't walk into-"

BAM

"-the wall." Maka finished with a sigh.

Maka, Tsubaki, and Black*Star continued walking as Liz and Patti, who was once again giggling hysterically, rushed to help up Kid after his collision with the wall.

"Anyways, let's begin the tour. There have been some changes in the school since you've been gone. There are new additions do to the new influx of students. We have a new training arena we developed with the help of some artifact technology and magic. Best of all, the Library is even larger than before, and I have access to all of it." Maka said that last sentence with a dreamy look on her face. Black*Star didn't hear anything other than "training arena", a similar look to Maka's on his face.

"Training arena! That sounds right my alley!" He yelled while running off in a randomly selected direction.

Maka's temple throbbed, with a headache on the way, as she whipped out a full text, hardcover copy of The Arabian Nights and chucked it a Black*Star's head. Tsubaki sighed as she walked over to Black*Star to pick up his crumpled form from the floor.

"As I said, we begin our tour." Maka stated as she glared down at the unconscious Black*Star. She turned and walked down the hall as the weapons gathered up and carried/dragged their respective technicians.

* * *

Shortly after a trip to the infirmary, the tour began once again. Maka walked them from classroom to classroom, stopping by at the library to see if a book was in. They then departed from the library, Maka muttering something about "'could be lost in the back' my ass", and headed in the direction of the training arena. As they neared their destination, Black*Star could barely contain his excitement.

"Oh, I can't wait to get in there and show all of just how great I have become. If I was a god before, then there is no reasonable word to describe me now other than the Great and Almighty Black*Star of Awesomeness! Not even that may suffice to express my immenseness." He was practically jumping out of his skin as the arena door came into sight. "Just you wait, Kid! You may not want a rematch with me after seeing an example of my power."

"You're not the only one who has been training, Black*Star." Kid stated as Maka pulled out a strangely shaped key and inserted it into the door. "These past years, you think all we did is teach and do paper work? I'm pretty sure you will be the one regretting a rematch." Kid ended that statement with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah! Well, we will see about that!" Black*Star yelled, his excitement even higher. The instant Maka unlocked the door, he pushed her out of the way, ran through the door, only to find himself in an empty, white room. "Hey! What's the big Idea? This looks like nothing more than an unused storage room."

Maka walked into the room rolling her eyes. Once everyone had entered, she closed the door and walked over to another door. Confused, Black*Star and Tsubaki followed, tailed by Kid, Liz, and Patty. Inside the second room was a huge control panel, covered in knobs, levers, switches and other devised that could not be named. Above the controls was a window that looked into the previous room, but no matter how hard he tried, Black*Star could not find the other side of the window in the white room. Maka fiddled with some of the controls and typed in something on the keyboard.

Disappointed and bored, Black*Star decided to leave and go find a real place to train, but as he walked towards the exit, it disappeared. In fact, the whole room disappeared, leaving him in a forest. Black*Star looked around, trying to calm down and thing rationally. Unfortunately that was impossible for him, so he just started running in hopes of finding the end to the forest.

Black*Star ran for a long period of time before a noise caught his attention, stopping him in his tracks. Looking in the direction of the sound, Black*Star positioned himself into a battle stance and prepared for the oncoming assault. Moments past, but there was no sound to follow the first. Believing that the danger had past, Black*Star began to relax. At that moment of hesitation, something pounced from behind and tackled him. Black*Star managed to turn himself over in mid air, but only to be pinned on his back.

On top of him stood a snarling creature that could only be described as grotesque. There was no doubt that this was a pre-kishen. Black*Star squirmed and attempted to get out of the creatures grip, only to be picked up by its clawed hands and slammed into the ground. After repeating this motion about five or more times, Black*Star was flung into a nearby tree. He began to gather himself up and stood just in time to be head butted by the pre-kishen back into the tree. Black*Star was once again pinned to the ground, a set of jagged teeth dripping with saliva hovering over his head. His attempts to shove the creature off of him were futile and merely draining his energy even faster.

"Well this isn't a very godlike way to die. At least no one is here to see this. That would be embarrassing." Black*Star commented on his impending doom. "And I was looking forward to kicking Kid's ass too."

* * *

Hope you liked it. Made this one a longer than the other's to make up on lost time. Review, Fave, Alert, whatever.


	4. Chapter 4

Ha HA! Got it done and up in a week this time, just as planned. Although I could have studied more for that test... Naaaaahh! Anyways, another chapter for you lovely people to read and hopefully review. I realize that Black*Star and Tsubaki are a bit odd and slightly out of character this chapter, but hopefully you all can deal with it. Enjoy!

* * *

Previously…

_On top of him stood a snarling creature that could only be described as grotesque. There was no doubt that this was a pre-kishen. Black*Star squirmed and attempted to get out of the creatures grip, only to be picked up by its clawed hands and slammed into the ground. After repeating this motion about five or more times, Black*Star was flung into a nearby tree. He began to gather himself up and stood just in time to be head butted by the pre-kishen back into the tree. Black*Star was once again pinned to the ground, a set of jagged teeth dripping with saliva hovering over his head. His attempts to shove the creature off of him were futile and merely draining his energy even faster._

"_Well this isn't a very godlike way to die. At least no one is here to see this. That would be embarrassing." Black*Star commented on his impending doom. "And I was looking forward to kicking Kid's ass too."_

* * *

Black*star struggled in vain with the pre-kishen as its gaping mouth inched closer. Then, without warning, an ear-splitting scream rung throughout the forest, halting the creature's former actions in order to find the source of the offending noise. Black*star took this golden opportunity to catch his assailant off guard and hurl it into the nearest tree. Having no interest in the noise that very well may have saved his life, Black*star took off running. It wasn't a minute later when the same god awful sound hit him again, this time closer. He picked up speed in case the noise meant another unfriendly welcome.

Suddenly, a figure darted from behind a tree and into his vision, and then into him. Shaking his head to get out of his state of bewilderment, Black*star looked down to see who, or what he had crashed into. Below him laid a very scared and confused, pink-haired individual.

"Chrona! What are you doing here?" Black*star questioned as he stood and offered a hand to his companion.

Chrona accepted his help but didn't look any less frightened, "Maka sent me to retrieve you. She said something about 'his impatience is going to be the death of him one day', or something like that. But I don't know why she sent me when I don't know how to deal with these things"

Black*star stared blankly as Chrona attempted to speak and look him in the eye, but failed completely.

"Whatever, as long as I can get out of here and go kick the ass of whoever is responsible for putting me mess." Black*star stated as he began walking off again.

"Well, if you want out, you're going the wrong way." Chrona said while walking a different direction.

"I knew that! I was just checking to make sure that nasty little bugger isn't fallowing us." Black*star replied, now actually looking to see if the mentioned attacker was nearby.

Chrona stared for a moment then a thought came to mind, "If you mean that pre-kishen, then I already took care of it. It's not too much to worry about, but there might be more wondering around, and I wouldn't know how to deal with that."

Black*star thought about this for a moment, shrugged, and followed Chrona to their destination.

They ran through the woods at break neck speed, checking their surroundings and pausing at any suspicious sound, but didn't meet any trouble. Chrona finally started slowing down and came to a stop in front of a large red wood. After pressing a hand up against the tree in several different spots, Chrona finally found something. With a light push a square shaped section of the tree popped out then receded back into the tree and out of sight. Black*Star stared in amazement as an even larger portion of the tree swung open like a door. Before he could question Chrona about the door, a hysterical Tsubaki jumped out from the tree and onto him, knocking the surprised, blue-haired ninja off balance.

"You scared me half to death, disappearing like that!" Tsubaki yelled while holding Black*Star by the collar of his jacket. After glaring at him for a good long time, she stood up and held out a hand to help him up. While shaking her head, she asked herself more than him, "Sometimes, I don't know what I'm going to do with you?"

Black*Star grinned while taking her hand in his and standing up, but only to be knocked down once again by that dreaded The Arabian Nights book. Tsubaki sighed at her possibly comatose partner and turned to face a very furious Maka.

"Back to the infirmary, again?" Tsubaki asked with a smile.

Maka let out a sigh, "No, we'll just wait for sleeping beauty here to wake up," she looked up and smiled at Tsubaki, "In the mean time, tell me all about your trip!"

* * *

"…and so we just followed reports of any mysterious or particularly heinous murders. We didn't run into many legitimate pre-kishen, but we managed to collect quite a few kishen eggs. I believe we are at 57 now." Tsubaki finished with a smile.

"You guys have come pretty far." Maka commented, "Not to say that you guys weren't already powerful before, but now your souls are almost completely in sync. You've also become a little more assertive, Tsubaki. I don't think I've ever seen you yell before today." She said with a giggle.

Tsubaki blushed a little at the statement. "I don't know about that. He just makes me worry so much, and sometimes it gets to the point that he will get himself into serious trouble if I don't say anything." She glanced warmly over at Black*Star, who was snoring away with a snot bubble inflating and deflating with every breath.

Maka also glanced at him, but without the motherly concern "We you may have changed, but Black*Star hasn't made any improvement at all."

Tsubaki looked back up at Maka, still smiling, "That's not true at all. In fact, even I'm surprised at how much he's matured."

Their conversation ended when an audible moan reached their ears, signaling that the blue haired meister was regaining consciousness.

"What the… why am I on the floor? And why does my head feel like a brick landed on it?" Black*Star questioned as he massaged his head.

"It was a book, and if you act rash again, I'll be forced to use it yet again." Maka answered with utmost seriousness.

Black*Star glared at the pigtailed girl for moment, then a thought popped in his head.

"Hey, what was that all about back there! First I was in your so called "training arena", about to leave, then I was in some forest being mauled by a pre-kishen. If it wasn't pretty much a god myself I would probably be dead right now!" Black*Star yelled incredulously at the group.

"Actually, if it weren't for Chrona you would be dead," Kid interjected, "and you were in the California Redwoods, to be precise."

"Whatever, I just want to know what the hell happened!" Black*Star yelled, frustration building up the longer his inquiries went unanswered.

"Well, as I have stated already, this room was created from magic and artifact technology." Maka said with the feeling that the day was never going to end, "We don't know all the specifics, seeing as we were not a part of the project. What is known is that throughout the whole experience, you are still in this room. We use the equipment in the control room to simulate a vast area for the participant to roam and train in. You can be anywhere from the Congo Basin to New York City to Mount Everest with the exact same climate characteristics as the original. The most amazing thing of all is that even though it is all a simulation, everything is as if it were real, including the danger."

Black*Star stared blankly for a moment, "Huh?"

Maka rolled her eyes, "It's all fake, but if you get hurt or die in there that will be the real."

There was look of confusion on Black*Star's as he asked, "How did that dinky room turn into that humungous forest? Was that pre-kishen real?"

"As I said, we don't know for sure. There might be a possibility that Dr. Stein found a form of magic or technology that mimicked Medusa's Vector Arrow, allowing you to move or feel like you're moving. As for the opponents, they are all entirely simulated, but they can still cause you harm." Maka said.

Right after she finished talking, a low voice traveled in from the doorway, "Now that this long, drawn out, and boring explanation is over with, how about we show you what this puppy can really do."

Everyone turned to see a lazy grinned Soul leaning on the door frame. There was a moment of silence as Soul and Black*Star locked their eye-contacted with intent.

"Soooouuuul!" Black*Star yelled out, tears coming to his eyes as he ran slowly to his friend.

"Blaaack*Staaar!" Soul yelled as he pushed himself off the doorway and towards his long time buddy. Maka sighed and Tsubaki smiled at their theatrics.

"Soooouuuul!" A grassy meadow faded into existence around them, momentarily taking Maka and Tsubaki by surprise.

"Blaaack*Staaar!" Sparkles and cherry blossom petals began to fall around them.

"Soooouuuul!"

"Blaaack*Staaar!"

"Soooouuuul!"

"Blaaack*Staaar!"

"Soooouuuul!"

"Blaaack*Staaar!"

"Soooouuuul!"

"Blaaack*Staaar!"

"Soooouuuul!"

"Blaaack*Staaar!"

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Maka yelled, causing Black*Star and Soul to halt their actions and the field to flicker and fade away. Maka began massaging her temple and Tsubaki put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "And who the hell started this simulation?" Maka said in aggravation, turning towards the control room door in time to see a giggling Patty duck back in. Calming herself down so that she didn't have a stroke, Maka turned her attention to Soul and said flatly, "You're late."

No longer teary eyed and acting goofy, Soul turned his "cool and aloof" glance over to Maka and shrugged. "Whatever, I just accidentally slept in. No big deal."

Maka rolled her eyes at his response, and turned to walk back to the control room and give Patty a stern talk about proper conduct in the simulation room.

"What was that about?" Black*Star asked, glancing at Soul for an answer. But when he looked at the scythe weapons face, he saw a longing and pain filled expression that fallowed Maka into the control room. "Soul?"

Soul snapped out of his stupor and looked back onto his friend with his signature grin, "Hmm… oh, it's nothing." He erased any sign of sadness on his face, "Anyways, how was your trip? Learn any new tricks? Damn you've gotten tall…"

As Black*Star began a tirade on the adventure they had and his Godliness, Tsubaki couldn't help but be worried. She looked back and forth between scythe meister and scythe weapon. What had happened in their absence?

* * *

Next week, I might, maybe, possibly, uncertainly make either a longer chapter or two updates since I have no tests, or at least that I know of *shifty eyes*. And who knows, something interesting might actually happen *gasp*

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